Eunice Kennedy Shriver: The Backyard Vision and a Global Legacy Madison Kesel, Jessica Thompson, Liberty Schultz Senior Division Group Documentary 496 words How and why we chose this topic: In a category we thought might be dominated by stories of powerful men, we found a woman whose leadership left behind an undeniable legacy. Eunice Kennedy Shriver quickly rose to the top as the embodiment of this year’s theme, “Leadership and Legacy”. Eunice was a leader in the worldwide struggle to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Because we each know or are related to someone with an intellectual disability, Eunice’s belief that sports could be a common ground to unite people from all walks of life truly resonated with us. How we conducted our research: We researched primary and secondary sources, including historical newspaper articles and pictures obtained from the National Library of Congress, historical and modern video footage of Eunice and the Special Olympics, and information from books and the Internet. Our interviews with people who knew and worked with Eunice – Janet Froetscher, the CEO of Special Olympics, Georgia Sheets, CEO of Georgia Special Olympics, and Timothy Shriver, son of Eunice (and nephew of JFK), provided us with critical information. In addition, we volunteered with the Georgia Special Olympics where we interviewed athletes and videotaped events. This experience gave us a personal connection to the athletes and a better idea of Eunice’s impact. How we selected a presentation category and created our project: We felt the compelling images we found in videos and pictures would provide the perfect backdrop for telling Eunice’s story through a documentary. Clips from the first Special Olympics were added to enhance the historical aspect of the documentary. The documentary was produced through the use of Adobe Premier Pro CC. How our project relates to the theme: Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s leadership and relentless determination were the catalysts for a lasting legacy, which includes the following amazing accomplishments: Special Olympics Multiple acts of legislation (the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 The closing of hundreds of inhumane institutions The end of desegregation in schools for the intellectually disabled Job opportunities for the intellectually disabled The overall positive shift in attitudes toward the intellectually disabled Countless personal honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor Because of Eunice’s leadership, what began as a summer camp in her back yard evolved into the Special Olympics International – a global movement that today serves almost five million athletes in more than 190 countries. As the largest healthcare and sporting program in the world dedicated to the intellectually disabled, the Special Olympics continues to bring a colossal economic boon to the hosting cities around the world. It also is responsible for changing policy. As a direct result of hosting the 2003 Special Olympics world games, Ireland rewrote its anti-discrimination statutes regarding treatment of people with intellectual disabilities. Eunice Kennedy Shriver left a profound and lasting legacy in the world, enabling an important segment of our population to feel valued and celebrated. Primary Sources Books: Shriver, Timothy. Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most. New York: Sarah Crichton Books, 2014. Print. The book Fully Alive by Timothy Shriver gave us an idea of what it was like to grow up with Eunice as a mother. Timothy Shriver is now the chairman of Special Olympics. Information from this book was used in the documentary for the section about Eunice’s motherhood. Interviews: Milton-Sheets, Georgia. "Georgia Milton-Sheets." Personal interview. 25 Jan. 2015. We met with Georgia Milton-Sheets, the CEO of Georgia Special Olympics. Georgia told us about Eunice and the times she had met Eunice. She also told us about what Special Olympics was currently hoping to accomplish and let us volunteer at the Georgia Winter Special Olympics. We didn’t use our interview from Georgia in our documentary, but our interview with her helped us better understand Eunice and her impact, as well as the current status of the Special Olympics. This source is primary because Georgia met and spent time with Eunice. She shared with us her experiences with Eunice as well. Shriver, Timothy. "Timothy Shriver." Personal interview. 20 Feb. 2015. We met with Timothy Shriver, the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and asked him questions about Eunice and the Special Olympics. Timothy Shriver is the chairman of the Special Olympics. He was very useful in our documentary and gave us a lot of insight about how Eunice changed the views of the world on people with intellectual disabilities. We put a section of his interview in our documentary. Newspaper and Magazine Articles: Goodyear, Sara Jane. “1,000 Retarded Kids Compete in Chicago Special Olympics,” in Chicago Tribune. Section 1A. July 21, 1968, p. 4. This newspaper article from the Chicago Tribune was published July of 1968, one day after the first international Special Olympics was held in Chicago. It describes the happenings of the event, including a description of the opening ceremony, the various events, and the athletes’ reactions. This article gave us great primary information, and gave us an idea of how big of a deal the opening of the Special Olympics was in 1968. Shriver, Eunice Kennedy. “Hope for Retarded Children,” in The Saturday Evening Post. Vol. 235, no. 33. September 22, 1962, pp. 71-75. This article in The Saturday Evening Post, a popular magazine in the late 1900s, was actually written by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. This article was extremely important because it was the first public announcement regarding Eunice’s sister’s intellectual disability. Eunice covers a number of topics, but especially focuses on the treatment of people with intellectual disabilities in institutions. She also lists ways intellectual disabilities can be avoided. The Joseph P. Kennedy foundation (of which Eunice was an executive) was largely behind the research for the reason and prevention of intellectual disabilities. We used this article to learn more about Eunice’s work before the Special Olympics, and what prompted her to start it. Legislation: “H.R. 108–406, 108th Cong., 150 U.S. Government Publishing Office (2004) (enacted). Print. The Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act was created to provide assistance to Special Olympics to support expansion of Special Olympics and development of education programs and a Healthy Athletes Program. This information was used in the section of the documentary discussing the legislation directly impacted by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. S., 88th Cong. (1963) (enacted). Print. The Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendment to the Social Security Act increased funding and programing opportunities. We used this act in the section of our documentary describing the various acts of legislation Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Special Olympics directly influenced. S. 94-142, 94th Cong., 121 U.S. Government Publishing Office (1975) (enacted). Print. The Education for All Handicapped Children act was created as an effort to give equal education to children with disabilities. It required that all children with disabilities received a free public education and one free meal a day. We used this act in the section of our documentary describing the various acts of legislation Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Special Olympics directly influenced. Digital Images: Amazing Legacy. Digital image. The Boston Herald. Herald Media, 12 Aug. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. This photograph of Eunice Kennedy Shriver awarding a Special Olympics athlete shows how personal Eunice’s connection to the athletes really was. We used this photograph to demonstrate how closely Eunice worked with the athletes. She lead through example by not just watching from the sidelines. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Digital image. National Archives. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2015. This picture is a photograph of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Americans with Act of 1990 banned the discrimination of people with disabilities. We used this photograph in our documentary while describing this act. Eunice Kennedy Shriver was an indispensable asset in getting this act passed. Egyptian Papyrus. Digital image. Archeology in Marlow. WordPress, 20 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. This is a picture of ancient Egyptian papyrus, supposedly relating to intellectual disabilities. We used this photo in our historical timeline describing how the acknowledgment of the existence of intellectual disabilities was found in ancient Egyptian papyrus. Hemingway, J. "1829 Building." 1829 Building. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. This source is a picture of the first asylum, established in 1829. Intellectually disabled people in asylums were often abused and neglected. This source was used in our documentary to show the way intellectually disabled people were treated before the Special Olympics. We used this picture in our historical timeline. Online Image Collections: "One Woman's Vision." Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Special Olympics, 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2014. This image collection portrays Eunice’s various stages in her personal life and her time in Special Olympics. We used these images throughout the documentary in the family, motherhood, leadership, and legacy sections. Eunice and World Leaders These images show Eunice being praised and awarded by world leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Ronald Reagan. They portray her global impact as well. We used these pictures during the award section in our documentary. The Shriver Family These images showed the Kennedy and Shriver families throughout Eunice’s life. We used these images to show how close Eunice and her family were. Camp Shriver We used many images of Camp Shriver in our documentary. Camp Shriver was held in Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s backyard, and eventually grew to be the Special Olympics.